until the end of the world
by Tundratown
Summary: A story after the ending of the game. How I would envision it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction of The Last of Us. I just finished the game on the 5th of April and it was sooo good! Now I'm playing the DLC, Left Behind. I've been thinking about the game constantly, and I need a let out so here I am. There are probably a few grammar mistakes because English is not my first language, so feel free to point them out and I'll correct them. SPOILERS.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy it!**

 **LEGAL STUFF: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING, EVERYTHING BELONGS TO NAUGHTY DOG.**

* * *

 **\- CHAPTER ONE -**

 **A ROOM WITH A VIEW**

"So this is it?" Ellie asked.

The two finally reached Jackson, ready to settle down after everything they've been through. A chance at a 'normal' life, or whatever people considered to be normal these days. Joel turned to look at the fourteen-year-old girl he'd been traveling with to the other side of the country. She had been awfully quiet during their walk to Tommy's which frightened Joel to the core, thinking she might know the truth about what really happened in Salt Lake City.

"This is it." he said. "Ready to leave all of this behind?" he gestured at the landscape behind them. Boston, Lincoln, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Salt Lake City... One hell of a journey they've been on and it's finally come to a stop.

Ellie watched the trees, the leaves moving the same way the wind blew, and the faraway mountain, its summit covered in snow. Everything seemed so distant, standing where they are now, it felt like everything happened months ago.

"Yeah, I think so." She said a little uncertain. The idea of staying in one place scared her a little because Joel and her had always been on the move, moving from one city to another. Their only purpose in life was to get to the Fireflies but now, she couldn't imagine what everyday life would be like once they've settled down. With infected always around the corner, hunters who were ready to put a bullet in their heads, scavenging for supplies and food whereas now the only thing they'll probably be worrying about is what they should have for breakfast.

The shift in life gave Ellie a comforting yet unsettling feeling, one she could hopefully shake off during time. While lost in her thoughts, Joel watched her attentively. Every time he looked at her, he was flooded with guilt. About how he took her away from the Fireflies, away from Marlene. Killed her because he was afraid she might come after them one day. She'd never forgive him, would she?

Tired of these questions, he snapped out of his thoughts. "C'mon kid, we're almost there."

They continued down their path until they caught a glimpse of a heavy, metal gate, similar to the one of the power plant they stumbled on a few months ago when they left Pennsylvania.

"Alright. Here we go." Joel prepared himself.

As expected, the two men who were guarding the perimeter from one of the towers, aimed their rifles at them, telling them to keep their hands where they could see them.

"What's your business here?" One of them asked, the end of his gun still fixated on Joel while the other had Ellie's reflection captured in its scope.

"My name is Joel and this is Ellie," he said, turning slightly to her when he said her name. "I'm Tommy's brother. If you call him, he'll tell you."

The guards looked at each other, probably deciding whether they were telling the truth or spitting out bullshit. Eventually one of them held out a small black box that seemed like some sort of radio transceiver because the guard was talking to it. When the call ended the guard nodded and lowered their weapons. They heard a creaking sound and saw the gate open.

Joel and Ellie entered and the gate closed behind them, shielding them from the dangers they had endured along their way. No more infected, no more hunters. No threat at all. They were safe now.

"Wow. It looks nice." Ellie commented as she looked around.

"Yeah. Different from what we're used to."

A bunch of houses, still damaged but not as much as the ones outside these gates. There were also people walking calmly on the streets, even children playing around.

"No fucking joke. I don't think I've ever seen so many people together without someone who's about to lose his shit."

Joel chuckled.

"Goddamn." He heard a familiar voice say and he saw Tommy and Maria appear, making their way to the pair, the two brothers sharing a hug.

"Took you long enough to get here!" Tommy said when he let go of Joel.

"Yeah, well, had some trouble along the way, you know."

"Good to know you two made it here safely." Maria said, welcoming the two to their settlement. Joel assumed she had forgiven him for asking Tommy an impossible favor the last time they saw each other, or at least, let go of her anger for now.

"Thanks."

Ellie watched Joel and Tommy interact. It's weird. Sometimes she'd forget that he still has a brother in this fucked up world, that he still has a family he could go to while Ellie lost hers when she was little. It made her feel more alone in the world. Of course, she had Joel but their relationship has been strained ever since their last conversation. She knew he was lying to her, knew he was hiding something. It was something that both angered and saddened her because during all the time they had spent together, the many arguments and short conversations, he had never lied to her. Joel was the person who'd never lie to her until now.

"Hey, you okay?" Maria asked her, noticing she hasn't said a word.

"Yeah, a bit tired. That's all." she replied. Ellie could feel Joel looking at her. He knew something was off too.

"Well, how about we show you your new home?" Tommy swung his arm around his older brother. "There you can sleep all you want."

"Lead the way, little brother."

It was a five-minute walk until they reached the house. The wooden walls were painted in green, the color a little faded because of the damage. The roof a soft pink-reddish color and there was even a porch.

"Looks nice." Joel said.

Ellie eyed their new house in awe. It's perfect she thought. This was their home from now. A place where they could live, eat, sleep...

"Wait 'till you've seen the inside." Tommy opened the door for them and all four went inside. There was a small kitchen on the left side of the room and a living room slightly bigger on the other side where only few furniture covered the floor. An old bench with the fabric a bit torn, a small saloon table with a television on top of it and a larger table with three chairs situated closer to the wall.

Joel let out a laugh. "Goddam Tommy, you even got us a tv?"

"You'd be surprised how many working ones we could get our hands on in a nearby town." Maria told him.

"Just a whole bunch of 'em lying in an abandoned store. Funny, don't you think? That before this whole virus thing got spread out, everyone had to have a tv in their house and now people don't even have enough food to last the day."

"I know. Makes you realize how fast things change."

"Hey Joel, you gotta see this! Hurry up!" Ellie shouted from upstairs, her voice full of excitement that brought a smile to his face.

"Why don't you explore the house some more, huh? I know it's only got a few rooms but what do you think?"

"It's perfect, Tommy. I can't thank you enough. You too, Maria. Thanks."

She gave him a gentle nod.

"Alright then. Here's the key." Tommy handed him the piece of metal. "You and Ellie take your time. We'll swing by later, okay?"

"Okay."

Upstairs were three rooms, two of them being bedrooms and the other a bathroom. The bedrooms were on the left side of the hall and the bathroom on the right. He found Ellie sitting on the window sill seat, similar to the one in the ranch house she had run off to once. She was staring outside the window. Joel joined her.

"Look at that view." She pointed outside. And what a view it was. You could see the rest of the houses in Jackson, the barriers, the gate and beyond that the forest, river and mountains.

"Can't deny that view." It's the exact same thing Ellie said when Tess was still traveling with them through Boston. Both couldn't help but laugh.

"You ready to settle down, kid?"

"Yeah. It'll be great."

"I bet it will."

They continued to look outside, enjoining the calm atmosphere and beautiful view. They remained quiet for quite some time to the point where it may have felt a little awkward.

"So...," Ellie broke the silence. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Joel looked at her, a little puzzled by her question because they never had the liberty to plan something ahead.

"I don't know but we'll figure something out. We have all the time in the world now, don't we?"

"Right. It's weird though."

"We'll get used to it... in time. C'mon, why don't we have something to eat? You hungry?"

"Only starving!"

They went downstairs and looked what they could find in the fridge. Nothing special. Some meat, vegetables, a little fruit... Joel prepared a simple but tasty meal and both of them enjoyed every bite of it.

"Ugh."

"What is it? Something you don't like?"

"It's not that. It's _these_." She pointed her fork at the small pieces of cauliflower on her plate.

"You don't like cauliflower?"

"I used to but I can't eat it anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because! They resemble the head of a clicker."

"What?" Joel asked her confused, not sure if he wanted to know.

"You know, with the fungus all spread over their heads. It looks like a- "

"Goddamn, Ellie. You know I prefer not to associate my food with any infected, especially when I'm about to eat it."

"Sorry." She apologized, finding his reaction very amusing but suppressed her smile.

"Jesus Christ. Thanks for ruining my appetite. I don't think I'm touching cauliflower ever again."

He shoved his plate away while Ellie laughed at him, still spooning down her own food.

"Oh, that's right. I've got something for you." He said and reached for his backpack, looking for something. "Though I'm not sure you deserve it after what you said to me."

"Ah, c'mon, Joel!"

"I thought you might like these." He threw the last two comic books he found onto the table. "Since you've got plenty of free time now."

"Awesome! It's been a while since I've read these. _Set in the year 2186, the plot of Savage Starlight centers around Dr. Daniela Star's adventures in space. She discovers a method of traveling faster than light via a jump drive, and soon finds that a group of hostile extraterrestrial known as Travelers are threatening mankind_."

Ellie read the plot out loud, refreshing her memory and also because Joel could listen with her. "Thanks Joel."

"No problem, kid."

She continued to eat her meal while flipping through the pages.

Joel shook his head, after hearing Ellie read the plot of these comics he felt ridiculous for a minute. It was almost the perfect summary to describe their current situation. Except it's happening on this planet and instead of finding a way to travel faster than light, he had found the cure in Ellie and the hostile group of Travelers that are threatening mankind were infected. Since when could a comic book be so on point?

When the sun disappeared behind the horizon Ellie and Joel went upstairs.

"So which room do you pick?"

"Uhm. The one with the window seat."

"Alright. I'll be next doors. If you need anything."

Ellie nodded.

"'Night, kid."

"Goodnight."

Ellie heard Joel close the door of his room and all of a sudden she felt lonely. They had always slept next to each other, his presence driving away the loneliness she felt at night when she'd lie awake staring at the ceiling some nights. But now, she was standing all alone in her room, surrounded by shadows and darkness, and even though Joel was just next to her room, she'd never felt more alone than today. There was a little part that wished they'd never reached Jackson because she knew everything would change but she never thought she'd miss Joel even when he was this close. She crept on bed and took her pillow and blanket with her and quietly opened Joel's door. He turned around, his face away from the wall.

"What's wrong, Ellie?"

She said nothing, simply lifted her shoulders.

"Come here." He said and made some room for her.

Ellie lied next to him, immediately feeling more comfortable than she had been in the other room.

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"That's alright. One step at a time."

And the two gave in to their exhaustion and dreamt the night away, whether they'd be good or bad dreams, as long as they got each other, they'd be fine.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So here's chapter two already 'cause I kept writing till four a.m. I'm in too deep, I can't stop. It doesn't have much action in it but that'll happen soon. I don't know how many chapter there will be but I'll figure it out along the way.**

 **Update: I finished Left Behind. So sad.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **LEGAL STUFF: I dont't own anything, everything belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **\- CHAPTER TWO -**

 **PROBLEM AND CAUSE**

It was dark. No voices, no people. Nothing. Suddenly a flickering light illuminated a hospital wing and Joel was standing there, in the middle of the hallway, his clothes drenched in blood, ready to walk to the other side. As the gap between his current position and the surgery room was getting closer, more soldiers appeared out of thin air, lying on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. All of them killed by Joel. Every time he'd pass one of the deceased men, he'd hear a soft whisper:

"Save her."

"Help her."

"Hurry."

As the words invaded his brain, sweat started to drop of his forehead, his throat was dry and his heart was pounding too fast. The haunting words appeared on the walls, smudged in blood. Whenever a whispered word left his mind, he ran faster.

 _I have to get to Ellie._ he thought. _I have to. I can't let her die._

When he saw the lights in the surgery room, his heart jumped. He could see rough shadows of surgeons getting prepped. Joel sprinted inside and barged his way into the OR. Three surgeons eyed him intensely.

"You can't save her." A man's voice said. "She's meant to do this. She's the cure to mankind. Let her go."

Furiously, Joel grabbed his gun and shot the head surgeon in front of him. Dead. He aimed his weapon at the other two assistants who begged for their lives but nonetheless Joel killed them in cold blood.

He turned to Ellie, removed all the hospital equipment they attached to her and tried to lift her up but she didn't seem to budge.

"C'mon, Ellie. C'mon!" he cried in desperation.

He could hear another group of soldiers entering the hall. It was only a matter of time before they'd search the surgery room.

"C'mon! Work with me Ellie!" he yelled anxiously.

He tried to lift her up again but as soon as her body left the bed some kind of invisible force pulled her back. As if there were dozens of hands dragging Ellie away from him.

"Let her go!"

The soldiers found Joel and aimed their guns at him while he was still holding her.

"Please Ellie, we need to-"

Shots were fired. Bullets went straight for Joel. Time seemed to slow down. How many seconds does he have left? Can he save her in two seconds before dying himself? Before the bullets hit him, all the whispered words returned to his head, echoing in the room.

"Help her."

"Save her."

"Hurry."

But this time he caught a glimpse of Marlene, somewhere between the soldiers that were killing him. Her figure was there. She looked him straight in the eyes. She said something to him but he couldn't hear it. She said it again, almost like she was repeating the same words over and over until Joel could hear them.

The first bullet finally pierced through his lung and all of a sudden time was back to normal but the sound had died. No gunshots, no screaming, not even the whispers. Everything was dead silent and Joel could finally hear the words Marlene had been saying to him.

" _You can't."_

He reached out to Ellie but the effort was useless. Everything was pitch black. The world had disappeared and so had Ellie.

Joel jolted awake from his nightmare, his eyes adjusting to his surroundings. Immediately he looked at Ellie only to find her fast asleep next to him. Joel let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

"Jesus Christ."

He got up and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. His breathing was heavy and he tried to calm himself down before going downstairs to get a glass of water.

"What I wouldn't do for a cup of coffee." he muttered.

He looked at the clock. Four a.m. Lazily he walked towards the door, went outside and sat down on the porch. There's no way he'll fall back asleep. Joel felt the cold wind brush against his cheek. A few birds chirping nearby.

 _Fucking Marlene, still chasing after him in his dreams._ he thought.

He reminiscenced about Boston, where it all started. He was glad he got out of that shitty place where there were fucking soldiers everywhere. Around every corner, dragging their weapons with them, ready to shoot anyone who misbehaved or got infected. He didn't miss the city at all or what was left of it. He wondered if Ellie felt the same way? If she missed Boston? She did grow up there. A wave of sadness overwhelmed Joel. Now that he wasn't on the move 24/7 and fighting of enemies, his emotions were harder to shake off now.

"Damn it." he whispered to no one but himself. He thought about Tess. He did miss her. The only thing he missed in Boston. In those twenty years after he lost Sarah, he wasn't close with anyone, barely talked at all but Tess was a different story. Sure, the two of them may not be the most suitable people to engage in an emotional discussion and benefit from it but she was always there for him. Whether if it was to smuggle something out of the city or just to keep him company, she was always there somewhere in his orbit, making sure he wasn't alone for too long.

He got up, took one last breath of fresh air and went back inside, closing the door behind him.

Ellie woke up because the sun was shining in her eyes. She absorbed the warm sunlight casted upon her face.

 _This feels nice._ she thought.

Her moment of peace was disrupted by some noise coming from downstairs. Her first instinct was to get up and grab her switchblade but her surroundings reminded Ellie again of where she was. Home. She loosened up and shook her head. Joel was probably rummaging through the drawers looking for things. After lying in bed for another ten minutes, Ellie finally got up and joined Joel in the kitchen.

"Morning, kiddo. Made you some omelette. "

"Good morning." she said, rubbing one of her eyes. The omelette before her smelled deliciously. It's been so long since she had a decent meal before Jackson. With all the crap they ate before, she's surprised they didn't die of food poisoning, not to offend Joel's cooking of course but because of the lack of kitchenware.

"Mmmm."

"You like that?"

Ellie nodded.

"So how did you sleep last night?" he asked.

"Great! I haven't slept in for such a long time so it was nice."

"Good to hear."

"What about you?"

"Fine."

"Fine? That's your answer? How boring."

"It's just sleep, Ellie."

"Yeah, exactly. Sleep without being interrupted by infected or crazy men."

Joel gave a chuckle. "Alright kid, it felt pretty fucking good."

 _For as long as it lasted._ he added, the words only audible in his head.

Ellie laughed and ate her breakfast. This is something she could get used to.

There was a knock on the door and Joel went to open it.

"Morning Tommy."

"Morning."

He came inside and waved at Ellie who was still enjoining her food.

"So had any sleep last night?"

Joel looked over at Ellie before answering. "Plenty."

"Yeah, well, after the long trip you've taken, I'd say well-deserved. It couldn't have been easy."

"We managed."

"So how did it go with the Fireflies? Did they find a cure?" Tommy asked him carefully.

Ellie immediately turned around so she could watch Joel's reaction. His face was hard as stone. Joel knew if he dismissed Tommy's question, Ellie would even be more suspicious.

"We found them but it didn't matter much. Appears there's a whole lot out there, you know, that are immune but they've got nothing. So they stopped looking."

"And Marlene was okay with that? Last time I spoke to her she seemed pretty determined."

"Well, that's years ago so… Things change, remember?" He recalled to their previous conversation about the tv's.

"Right." Tommy studied his brother's face. He wasn't telling him the whole truth. He was hiding something but didn't know what. He looked over at Ellie who had the same suspicious look as him. _What the hell happened?_

"So you want something to eat? I got some nice omelettes you'd like." Joel said, changing the subject.

"No thanks. I was actually just on my way out to check on the guards. See if there's any news. Wanna come with?"

Joel looked over at Ellie.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not your mom." Ellie joked.

"Funny. You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I'm not a baby, Joel. You should know I can handle myself by now."

"I know, I know. I was just asking."

"Why don't you bring her along?" Tommy suggested.

"You sure?"

"Why not? I could show you two around while we're headed there. The settlement's not that big but it's worth to explore."

"Alright then."

Once outside, they were once introduced before to the unusual image of playing children and chatting adults, carrying no weight of the world on their shoulders. No matter how many days will pass or how long they'll be here, Joel and Ellie will never get used to the picture.

On their way to the guards, they saw many families, sometimes with children, but most of them didn't have any. It'd be pretty cruel to bring a baby into this world. And incredibly hard. Without realizing, Joel had touched his broken watch. Sarah.

"So are there any kids my age here?" Ellie asked.

"A few but most of them haven't been outside these walls for years. Some were even born here."

"How the hell do you manage that?"

"Barely. We can't just throw 'em out and leave them there to fetch on their own, Joel."

"I know that but it can't be easy."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"What's that building?" Ellie asked, looking at the burned building on the other side of the street.

"That used to be a library."

"What's that?" she turned to Joel.

"It's like a bookstore but instead of buying books, you can borrow them."

"I guess there's not much left to borrow."

"She's right. Everything is burned to crisps."

The rest of Jackson was pretty much the same. Broken buildings with roots of trees growing over them. They had a small gathering place where they'd discuss important meetings and even a little bar not too far away from here.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something."

They followed Tommy to the stable where they kept eight horses.

"Wow! You have so many of them." Ellie said stroking one the animals.

"Yeah, we get extremely lucky sometimes." Tommy said while padding the head of horse. "Speaking of horses, I assume the one you took with you didn't make it."

Joel shook his head.

"It's a shame."

"Poor Callus."

"Callus, huh? He was a good horse." Tommy said to comfort her.

"Hey, Tommy! Didn't expect you here." Someone greeted him from behind.

Tommy turned around, already knowing who it was. "Hey, Gary. I thought I'd show our new guests around. Is Maria still busy?"

"She's almost done. She'll be here in a minute." Gary turned to Joel and Ellie and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet ya. I'm Gary. I take care of the horses."

Joel shook his hand. "Joel. This is Ellie."

"Hi." she greeted him.

Gary looked like he could be in his early fifties. Almost all his hair was gone and he had a deep scar running through his left cheek. He was wearing a grey shirt underneath his blue overalls and wore big brown boots and brown leather gloves.

"Hello. That your daughter?"

Joel hesitated before answering: "Something like that."

Ellie was touched by his words. She knew she could never replace Sarah and she didn't want to but knowing that Joel didn't fire down the question with a simple 'no' made her happy. That she could somehow fit the criteria to be his daughter.

"I see everyone's here today." Maria had just arrived, joining them at the stables.

"Hey, Joel, Ellie. Got some sleep tonight?"

"Yeah. It was good. You work here too?" Joel asked.

"I regularly help out Gary."

"She's a real sweetheart, ain't she Tommy?"

"Reason why I married her, Gary."

"Okay, boys. Enough fantasizing." She turned to Tommy. "You headed to the guards?"

"Yeah. See if there's some news."

"Hey, Ellie. Wanna help me take the horses for a ride?"

"Really?" she said excited.

"Yeah. I thought you might prefer that than following around these boys all day long. What do you say?"

"Hell yeah!"

Everyone smiled at her excitement. It was rare to witness these days.

Tommy and Joel marched off to the guard posts after leaving Ellie with Maria and Gary. They were met by one of the guards and guided them upstairs to the posts.

Once above, the view was beautiful. It was like the one in Ellie's room but without the barriers and giant walls. Just a whole landscape full of nature.

"See anything unusual last night?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing special from here. Though I heard Jasper picked up something odd last night when he was doing his rounds."

"Alright. Good job."

Tommy and Joel found Jasper and asked him about what he saw.

"Well, I wandered a little farther than usual but remember that abandoned train station not too far ahead?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I heard some noises ahead so I looked through my scope to see if I could get a closer look. All of a sudden a whole group of people started running away from the building. I looked to see what was after them but nothing. Not even a few infected."

Tommy heard him out before coming to a conclusion.

"My bet is they came from afar, probably saw something that scared them and ran off, trying to put as much distance between them and the threat. "

"Which also means that whatever the hell it was that scared them. It's coming our way too.

"How do you wanna do this, Tommy? Reckon we don't have much time."

"The hell, we don't." he said frustrated. "We're leaving tomorrow. Round everyone up. We've got things to discuss."

Jasper rushed to gather everyone around. Tommy looked into the woods, making sure whatever it was hasn't reached them yet.

"So much for peace and quiet." Joel said." You sure about this, Tommy? We have no idea what's out there."

"All the more reason to find out. I'm not placing my people in danger of I can avoid it, Joel. We find the cause, we'll get rid off the problem."

"Sounds good. I'm coming with you."

"Are you sure you're ready for this? "

"What? You think one night of sleep in a house made me go all soft?"

"Never."

"Alright then. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here's chapter three, it's a little shorter than the previous two chapters but I hope you'll still enjoy it. Let me know what you think.**

 **LEGAL STUFF: I don't own anything, everything belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **\- CHAPTER THREE -**

 **OBLIGATION AND COMPENSATION**

Most people of Jackson gathered around the place Tommy held his regular meetings. People were worried and nervous, whispering to each other about what the problem might be. Before heading there, Joel and Tommy went to the stables first to warn Ellie and Maria. When they arrived, Joel saw how much fun Ellie was having and it tore his heart open to bring her the bad news. Tommy and Maria talked in private, sometimes they'd raise their voices but they never yelled at each other.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked.

"I'm afraid I got some bad news, kid."

"Is it infected? Or hunters? The army even?"

"We don't know yet. One of the guards saw a whole bunch of people running away from something. There's a pretty big chance it's coming our way."

"Of course they would."

Joel shared her frustrations. One day in Jackson and they already got shit thrown their way.

"So what now?"

"Me, Tommy and some other people are gonna check out what's going on. See if we can deal with it ourselves."

"But I'm going with you, right?" she said, more like a statement than a question.

"Ellie…" he tried to explain.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm not staying here while you run off with your buddies fighting off infected!" she argued.

"We don't even know if that's the case. It'd just be safer if you-"

"Stayed here like a little baby?! Bullshit, Joel!"

He sighed. Of course she wouldn't comply.

"I can handle myself. Why don't you fucking trust me by now?"

"I do trust you!"

"But? And don't give me that bullshit about you not trusting yourself because we made it all the way here."

Joel lowered his head in defeat and scratched the back of his head.

"You're not gonna make this any easier, are you?"

"No. Shouldn't you know by now?"

"Fine. But you stay close to me, got it? Don't run off on your own."

"Pffft."

"Ellie." he said seriously.

"Alright! I promise!"

Joel pinched the space between his eyes. This was not supposed to happen but he knew Ellie wouldn't let him have his way. He looked over at Tommy and Maria who were still arguing, probably having the same conversation like him and Ellie.

They informed everyone of what was going on and formed a group of people who were willing to investigate the source of the problem. Eight people, including Ellie, Joel, Tommy and Maria.

"Get some sleep. We're leaving early." Joel said while he threw the keys of the house onto the table.

"What about you?"

"I just need to discuss something with Tommy, okay? I'll be right back I promise."

"Do I need to lock the door?" she asked uncertain.

"If that makes you feel safer."

Ellie thought about what he said and stood there for a split second before saying: "Don't be gone long, okay?" and went upstairs.

Joel headed back to his brother's house and knocked on the door. He could hear someone coming down the stairs before opening up. It was Tommy.

"Get in."

"What the hell was so urgent you needed to talk to me in private about?" Joel asked. "Is this about tomorrow?"

"It's got nothing to do with tomorrow."

"Then what is it?" he asked a little annoyed.

"Calm down. Maria's asleep. I don't wanna wake her." Tommy lowered his voice. "There's something that's been bothering me."

"Spill it."

"I know Marlene. If she sets her sight on something, she ain't giving up anytime soon. So this whole story about the Fireflies giving up, it doesn't make sense."

"Tommy, do yourself a favor and let it go." Joel said, trying to shut down this conversation.

"What are you not telling me?"

"I said let it go."

"Joel, you're lying through your teeth and I wanna know why!"

"It's none of your damn business!"

"The hell it is! You're living between people now, Joel. It's not just about you and her. If you did something to piss off the Fireflies, I don't wanna find them in front of these walls, ready to drop a bomb! I've got people to think about, goddamnit!"

Joel pulled out a chair and sat down. There's no way he can go on like this, not when Tommy was already suspecting his story.

"Just what the hell happened? Did you even go there?"

"We did go to the Fireflies, Tommy. And we met Marlene and she was… Still looking for a vaccine."

"You brought Ellie with you, right? You told me she was immune, that she could be the cure or something."

"Yeah, she is."

Tommy calmed down, pulled out a chair too and sat next to Joel.

"Marlene said that the infection inside of her somehow got mutated, it's why she's immune."

Tommy listened carefully at what he said, making sure he wasn't being lied to again.

"If they could remove it and observe it, then maybe they could find a cure. Maybe."

"Well did they?"

"They never had the chance."

"Why? What happened?"

"I killed them."

There was a moment a silence. Tommy didn't really grasp the words he'd just been told. He looked over at Joel, his eyes were cold.

"You what?"

"The infection grows all over her brain, Tommy. They remove it, they kill her."

"Joel." Tommy began, still trying to sink in the words while trying to keep his temper. "Last time, you were ready to dump this girl with me and now you're sacrificing mankind for her! What the fuck were you thinking?! Were you even thinking at all?!"

"I care about her."

"That may well be the case but that don't give you the right to kill someone, especially someone who's been trying to save us."

"It was all speculation! The doctors didn't even know if it would actually work! She would've died for nothing!"

"But what if it did, huh? Have you looked around you? We're trapped. Living in a shitty town barricaded with metal walls and fences, scared to go outside. You do realize you took every survivor's chance at a normal life away? Not just yours or Ellie's but also mine and Maria's, Gary's, Jasper's, every fucking human who's tired of this life!"

"Tommy…"

"What the hell, Joel? You gone insane?"

"I was just trying to protect someone I cared about. You're telling me it's okay to sacrifice her to save the rest?" Joel defended himself, raising his voice. "You don't even know who the rest is, Tommy. They could be scumbags, rapists, killers. Don't forget that before the outbreak there were people out there worse than infected!"

Another pause. The two brothers were looking intensely at each other, unable to carry on the conversation without hurting the other in the process.

"What did she say?" Tommy asked after a while.

"What?"

"Ellie. What did she say when she found out?"

Joel didn't answer and Tommy seemed to know what it meant.

"She doesn't know, does she?"

Tommy shook his head in disbelief.

"This time you really fucked up, Joel. I'm just wondering how you're gonna get yourself out."

"Tommy, if you don't want me to come tomorrow-"

"No, you're coming." He cut him off, his eyes filled with anger. "You don't wanna find a cure, fine, but you better do something to compensate for it. Even if you have to kill every damn infected on this planet. It was your call and you messed up. Now pay for it."

Joel had never seen his little brother look at him with such disgust and it broke his heart. He left without saying another word and headed home.  
 _Everything is falling apart,_ he thought. He shut the door quietly behind him and dragged his exhausted body up the stairs. With each step, his legs grew heavier.

He walked towards his room and watched the small body of a young girl asleep on his bed, a copy of 'Savage Starlight' lying on her stomach.  
 _How could I not save her?_

Joel lay next to Ellie, his eyes fixated on the ceiling, still thinking about the fight he had with Tommy until sleep took over.

The morning was cruel. Joel hadn't had much sleep and found himself waking up in sweat around five in the morning, his head full of painful memories and awful nightmares. His mood didn't change much after he and Ellie met up with the rest of the group. The tension between him and Tommy was clearly noticed by everyone else but no one dared to ask what happened. Ellie made various attempts to find out what was bothering Joel but he shut her down each time again. He could see Maria asking Tommy the same kind of questions but her efforts were in vain. He didn't say anything either. This went on until they arrived at the abandoned train station or what was left of it. The building was completely destroyed.

"Hard to believe any trains used to pass here." Ellie said as she watched the station with curious eyes.

"You ever been on one?" Joel asked.

She shook her head. "But I've seen many pictures of it in old magazines. They look nice. What about you?"

"Not much. Sometimes me and Sarah would take the train to travel places during vacation but only sometimes."

"You don't like going on trains?"

"Too many people."

They searched the place but there wasn't any evidence of infected or hunters.

"There's a town nearby. Maybe we'll find something there."

"You go there often?" Joel asked Jasper, the guard, who went with them.

"Sometimes, if we're almost out of supplies, we usually head there and look around, see if we can find anything useful."

The group was nearing the town within fifteen minutes. It looked like no one had been here for a while. There were various traps lying around the area, not sure if they were placed here recently or not. Tommy and the rest were about to do their usual routine to gather supplies until Joel caught something blinking in the corner of his eye.

"Get down!" He warned everyone and they did as they were told, just in time to avoid a storm of bullets.

Tommy, hidden after a collapsed wall, took a quick look to see who they were dealing with.

"Damn hunters everywhere!"

Danny, one of Tommy's men, managed to get a clear shot at the enemies and took out two of them but many still remained.

"You got any idea how many there are?" Tommy asked him.

"I'd say about another ten people maybe. Could be more."

Suddenly bullets were fired again but not at them.

"What the hell they shooting at?!" And the familiar sound of clicking noises answered their question.

"Fucking clickers." Joel muttered as he tried to get a better look.

The hunters were firing all their ammo away at the five clickers, two men already gone.

"Fuck it! We gotta scram before the storm is coming. There's a swarm of them heading our way." One of them said.

The remaining hunters fled from the clickers that were chasing them.

With the hunters gone, one problem was solved, yet another one arises and a lot more troublesome.

"We got any time to run, Tommy?" Jasper asked.

"Not a chance in hell. They're too close already."

And he was right. They could already hear the hasty footsteps of humans, running for their lives as a bunch of infected came their way.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's chapter 4. Enjoy.**

 **LEGAL STUFF: I don't own anything, everything belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **\- CHAPTER FOUR -**

 **HIDING FROM CROWDS**

There was no time. A whole swarm of infected were coming their way and half of the hunters they were dealing with were already killed by five clickers. Imagine what damage a whole group could do.

"Ellie! We gotta hide!"

"What about your brother and Maria?!"

"They're tough people. They'll be fine."

Joel looked around and found a closed garage between the demolished buildings.

"C'mon! Hurry up!" He said and ran towards it.

"Are you sure, Joel?! Can't we just fight 'em off?" Ellie followed.

"No! There's too many of 'em and we'll die if we try to run."

She could already hear people screaming from afar, running for their lives. The loud crowd past the duo without glancing their way, too busy to outrun the infected.

Joel hurried and lifted the garage door open. Suddenly between the shadows within the space, a moving figure started running towards him, slamming him against the ground.

"Joel!"

A clicker was craving to put its teeth in his flesh. He tried to kick it off but a piercing pain that went through his right leg made him unable to. His gun flew too far to reach it. The clicker's teeth were getting closer then it let out a shrieking cry. Ellie had jumped the infected from behind and shoved a knife in its head. It fell down, still cringing before it finally died.

"Holy shit, Joel! Your leg!"

He looked down and finally saw the source of the pain. When he fell to the ground, his leg got caught in a bear trap. Its metal jaws clenching in his mangled flesh.

"C'mon, you gotta get up before they come."

She dragged his injured body to the garage but he was heavier than she thought he was. Once inside she put him down gently.

"Oh man, oh man. You're losing too much blood. What do I do?"

She looked around but couldn't find much. A few rags and some tape but nothing to pry open the trap.

"How do I open this fucking thing?"

"The springs! You have to depress the springs!" Joel said while clenching his teeth.

Ellie tried what he told her but she wasn't strong enough.

"I can't! It's too strong!"

Both their hearts stopped for a second. Between all the hurried footsteps and voices, they could hear the agonizing shrieks of the infected.

"Goddamn, they're here! Ellie, close the door! Now!"

"But you'll lose your leg if we don't get this thing off!"

"Doesn't matter. Just close the fucking door!"

Ellie couldn't let Joel go through this pain. Her memories of what happened in Colorado put her in a panic.

"I'm gonna look for some help. I'll be right back!"

"No! Ellie, dont-" Before he could stop her, she was already gone. He tried to stand up but the pain was too overwhelming.

"Damn it. Ellie!"

Ellie saw a whole stream of people running away from the infected who were chasing after them. She tried to call out to someone but no one even looked her way.

"Please, you gotta help me!" she shouted, hoping someone would run towards her but no one did.

Realizing this wasn't gonna work, she turned around, only to find a clicker behind her, ready to attack. There wasn't enough time to grab her switchblade and the infected grabbed her.

"Get off me, you fucking-"

A bullet pierced right through the clicker's head. Ellie pushed it off of her and looked where it came from. A woman with a rifle was standing a few yards away from her, her weapon still focused on the clicker. Sure that it was dead, she said: "Kid, if I were you, I'd scram. There's a whole swarm coming this way."

She was about to leave when Ellie called out to her.

"Please you have to help me! There's someone in a lot of pain and I don't know what to do!"

The woman looked at her, not sure what the little girl was expecting from her. She shook her head.

"Sorry. I gotta go."

"No, wait! Please, he's just lying over there."

The woman wanted to object but before she could, Ellie was already on the move. Her instinct told her to leave, don't concern yourself with the little girl, but she saw three runners storming towards the place Ellie had just gone to.

At the garage, Ellie shot one of the runners and she was about put a bullet through the other two when no bullet left her gun as she pulled the trigger. Out of ammo. There wasn't enough time to close the door before the runners attacked her or to grab another gun. Next thing she knew, the two runners who were after her, we're laying on the ground, drowning in a puddle of their own blood. Ellie let out a sigh of relief when the woman she had asked for help earlier, followed her and finished the two runners off. She ran towards Ellie and helped her close the garage.

"You're putting me in a really difficult position here, kid." she said annoyed. "That your old man?" The woman looked at Joel.

"Something like that."

She gave Ellie a frown but without delving deeper into it, she inspected the wound. "That's fucking nasty."

Both of them managed to release the trap from Joel's leg by depressing the springs.

Ellie took the rags and tape and pulled up his trousers to reveal the wound.

"Hold on, Joel."

"Here." the woman handed her some alcohol. "Better to disinfect the wound. You never know what nasty stuff got stuck between those traps."

"Thanks." She took the bottle and spilled some over Joel's wound. He groaned.

"Sorry." She wrapped some of the rags over his leg and put some tape over it. "That should do it for now."

Meanwhile the woman had opened the garage a little and kneeled to the floor to get a look at the situation outside.

"Man, I'm not getting outta here by tomorrow. It's roaming with infected."

She closed the door, thinking about something. Ellie looked at her. She looked like she could be in her early 40's, blond long hair tied up in a braid. Green eyes, average height.

Ellie finished patching Joel up and insisted he should get some sleep. After a minute of arguing, he finally did.

Ellie stood up and watched the woman load her weapons. A hunting rifle and a handgun.

"Why did you decide to help me?"

The woman looked at her, then lifted her shoulders.

"If I were standing in your shoes, I'd want someone to help me out too."

Ellie, appreciating her honesty and her help, thanked her.

"Save the thanks for when we get out of here. In one piece, I prefer."

"Look, I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess but I really needed help." Ellie apologized.

"Comes with the territory, I guess. How's your man doing?" she asked, looking at a sleeping Joel.

"He'll be fine."

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Ellie asked confused.

"Haven't seen many kids around this area. In fact, you're the first one to show up. You holding up alright?"

"I guess. It's not like I have much of a choice." she replied. "So what's the situation outside?"

"Infected everywhere. It's best if we'd stay here for the night. Maybe they'll go away and their numbers will drop by the morning. We'd have a bigger chance of getting out of here alive."

"If you say so."

And without saying another word, both went to sleep or at least tried to.

Joel woke up, turned his head to find Ellie sleeping next to him. He looked around and saw another woman inside the garage. He slowly reached for his gun but her voice broke the silence.

"You really think she'd sleep at all if I had threatened to kill you both?" she said, her face hidden in the shadows.

She had a point, he thought.

"How's your leg?"

He looked at the bloody rags taped around his leg. That's Ellie's handy work. He slowly got up and tried standing on his injured leg. The pain had diminished a lot but it still stinged.

"I'll manage." he said nonchalantly.

"Good. 'Cause I can get all the help I need to escape this hellhole." she told him in the same tone.

Joel agreed with her. This place was miserable. Locked up in a small garage with almost no supplies. He had it better.

Joel walked around, stretching his legs while getting used to the pain. He rummaged through some lockers and found an old lantern.

"Well, look at that." he said while placing it on the ground and sitting down. "You got any fire?"

She threw something at him and he caught it. It was a lighter.

"You smoke?"

"Used to. If you haven't noticed the world kinda changed a while ago. It's hard to find any stores nowadays. You know, the ones that aren't destroyed."

"Cute."

Joel lit up the lantern and he could finally see the woman's profile, her face turned away from him. But even then, she was beautiful. He wasn't gonna deny it but she didn't need to hear it either. Her eyes were very focused, even during this time of the night, like she'd done this many times in the past.

"You done this a lot?" he asked her.

"Hiding in a garage? Sure, all the time."

Joel could hear the irony in her voice.

"Whatever."

"You got a tough kid with you." the woman said, her face still turned from him.

He looked at Ellie, still asleep on the floor.

"Yeah, well, she's been through a lot."

"I could tell. I've never seen someone this young fight off infected like her. She's tougher than most adults."

Joel couldn't help but feel like a proud dad, hearing this from a stranger. He showed a little smile.

"Speaking of adults, what's your name?" he asked.

She finally looked at him, emerald eyes piercing through his. You could tell there was a story hidden there. What kind of story he didn't know. One of many hardships? Of loss and anger maybe? It was something that sparked a sudden interest in Joel. Meanwhile the woman was probably deciding whether or not she could trust him and he didn't blame her. It's hard to find honest people during such a time.

"Sonia."

"Joel."

"Pleased to meet you, Joel. Any idea how we're getting out of here?"

Straight to the point. The woman's not joking around.

"I don't really know how things are going outside."

"Let me give you a heads up. There's infected everywhere and I'm pretty sure they've bitten almost every person they could get their hands on so that kinda doubles the amount, doesn't it? " she said in a bitter tone.

"Great."

He looked at her, she was obviously annoyed.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here, okay? I don't like it either."

"Girl said the same thing. Look, Joel, I don't blame the two of you if that's what you're thinkng."

"Really?" he asked unconvinced. "Than you're not really good at showing it."

"I'm just pissed off at where we are. In a fucking garage with no way out."

"You know what they say."

"What?"

"Misery loves company."

For a moment he could detect a glimpse of a smile on her face but it vanished immediately.

"So where you're from?"

"Texas."

"Traveled long, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"And still breathing, even more impressive."

"Thanks. What about you? You from around here?"

"No. Alberta."

"Canada? What's a lady like you doing all the way here in Jackson?" he asked surprised.

"Business." she replied, not wanting to share more.

"Alright."

The two remained silent. Joel's thoughts drifted away, thinking about Tommy and Maria. _Where were they? Are they okay? Did they get out?_ He started to worry. They are strong people, they should be fine. He thought, trying to calm his nerves. Suddenly a loud banging on the metal garage door brought Joel back to reality. Ellie snapped out of her sleep and looked at where the sound was coming from.

She walked over to Joel. "Joel?"

"Sshhhh - Calm down. It won't get in."

The banging stopped after a few seconds.

"Looks like the infected are getting anxious." Sonia said.

"How many are still out there?" He asked.

"Dunno. Plenty, I guess."

"Oh man, this is bad. How the fuck are we getting out here, Joel? Those infected are everywhere." Ellie panicked.

"I said calm down. We'll find a way. Look around, see if there's anything we can use, alright?"

"I already did that."

"It wouldn't hurt to look again."

Ellie nodded but still unsatisfied with his answer. They could be stuck in here for days and the fact that Joel didn't have a solid plan made her worries grow bigger than they already were.

"You ready?" he asked Sonia.

"Sure."

"What do you think our chances are with those guys running around?" His eyes sliding at the door that separated them from the infected.

"Slim. If you're talking about getting all three of us out. If it's one person… well, that's different story, isn't it?"

"One I don't want to see happening within these next hours." he said stern.

"Hey, guys! Look!"

The two adults turned to look at Ellie. She was shoving a small cabinet to show a small hole inside the wall.

"We can go through here. I bet it's gonna lead us inside the house."

"Good job." Joel said. "Grab your stuff. We're leaving."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's chapter 5.  
**

 **In case you're wondering what song I had picked out for the track Jasper chose, it's _Arrows by Roscoe James Irwin_.  
It's probably gonna be a while before I post chapter 6 cause I'm kinda finishing up some school projects for my exams.  
I had the story all planned out till the fire but since that's wrapped up, I have no idea how to continue the story.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **LEGAL STUFF: I don't own anything, everything belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **\- CHAPTER FIVE -**

 **RUTHLESS METHODS AND COLD TACTICS**

Joel, Ellie and Sonia crept through the hole and it lead them inside another room, the kitchen.

"You know the drill. See if there's anything we can use."

They found a pair of scissors, some alcohol and a few stained rags.

"Damn," Joel cursed under his breath. "No ammo."

"Don't worry. I've got a stack of 'em in my bag." Sonia shared.

They went to the living room, the place was empty. Joel took the time to load his guns with the bullets Sonia gave him.

"Let's see if there's anything upstairs."

Joel and Ellie headed for the stairs but Sonia stayed behind.

"I'll wait downstairs."

"Suite yourself."

As they headed up the stairs, they searched each room before they entered the last one in the very back. When Joel opened the door, a nasty gas enveloped them.

"Damn spores." he said while pulling out his mask and placing it over his head. "I suppose it's a good think she stayed behind. Wouldn't want her to find about your immunity. "

"I guess so."

There was a mangled corpse of an infected glued against the wall with fungus grown all over its body.

"No matter how many times I've seen this, it stays disgusting." Ellie commented on the rotting corpse.

There wasn't much to find in here except for a letter of one the residents who lived here. A desperate note left to be read by one of his loved ones.

"Do you think he got his happy ending?" Ellie asked Joel, holding the letter in her hand.

"Don't know. Happy endings are hard to get. Even before the outbreak."

"Well, I hope he did. I could use some happiness in my life, even if it's not my own."

Suddenly they heard a loud crash coming from downstairs. Joel and Ellie rushed to check out what was causing all the commotion. They could hear a familiar clicking noise and a screaming voice. It wasn't Sonia but some male. Halfway descending the stairs, they saw a man fighting off the creature. Sonia came in from another room and shot the infected twice. It's body collapsing on top of the stranger. The man pushed it of him as fast as he could, completely freaked out by the attack.

Joel and Ellie watched him cautiously, then Joel recognized the poor soul. It was one of Tommy's men, Jasper, he thought his name was. The one who warned everyone of the odd situation.

"You okay?" Joel asked, keeping his distance.

"I'm fine." he said, still shaken. "Care to give me a hand?"

Joel reached out for his hand but noticed something and quickly distanced himself from Jasper. Joel pulled out his gun, aiming it right at the man's head.

"What the fuck, man?! Keep that thing away from me!" Jasper cried in distress.

"Joel, what are you doing?" Ellie asked, coming closer to Joel.

"Don't come any closer."

Ellie looked at Jasper, trying to understand what was happening. At first Joel's sudden change of behavior didn't make any sense to her but after everything they've been through, all the nasty enemies they've encountered and the world they're living in, she could only guess what was wrong.

Ellie took a few steps back, leaning against the wall, her eyes focused on the man who didn't seem to realize his unfortunate fate.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked.

"You really don't know? You don't feel it?" Joel replied.

"Feel what? I'm fine." Jasper said, his hands going over his body, showing everyone he hasn't been injured but a wet piece of torn off skin said otherwise. He felt it just a little beneath his neck. It hurt when he touched it, it was soaked but he knew it wasn't water.

"No." he almost whispered to himself.

"You got yourself bitten." Joel said, slightly lowering his gun.

"I don't- How? I didn't feel anything."

Ellie spotted a tear rolling across Jasper's cheek.

"Look, I wish things would've turned out differently," Joel looked across the room before continuing. "for all of us but I can't leave you like this. You know that, right?"

Joel felt sorry for the wounded man. An hour ago he was helping them fight off some hunters and now he's already dying.

"I get it, I think. I mean, it's only normal, right?" Jasper said, searching for Joel's eyes, almost as if he were looking for confirmation to his own question.

Joel almost pulled the trigger when Sonia stopped him.

"Wait!"

Joel gave her a look. _What the hell do you mean 'wait?!_

"It'll take a couple of hours before he turns."

"So?"

"He can still help us out for the time being."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Not if you wanna make it out of here alive."

"What? You've got some brilliant plan in the back of your head?"

"A plan? Yes. Not sure if it's brilliant though."

"This is ridiculous. The man's in pain. The least we can do is put him outta his misery."

"No, hold up!" Jasper interrupted. "Just- wait a minute."

"Oh, Jesus Christ." Joel muttered annoyed.

"What's this plan of yours?" Jasper asked Sonia.

"There used to be a small recording studio nearby but they turned it into a music store. All the equipment is still there. If we could lure the infected into that building by playing something through the speakers, we could grab our chance and escape."

"Can I talk to you in private?" Joel demanded. "Ellie, you watch him. "

Making sure Ellie and Jasper couldn't overhear their conversation, Joel pulled Sonia to another room.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" he asked her.

"What is wrong with you? I give you a way out and you get in my face?!"

"By using that man as bait?!"

"He was done for anyway. You said it yourself."

"But that doesn't mean we can throw him into a bunch of infected just because he's done for, hoping he can be of some use!"

"Since when does that matter? Don't tell me you're having morality issues because I can't deal with that too."

"I can't believe you."

"Well, you better believe it because I've done things far worse than throwing a man's last minutes in front of the lions. And don't even try to make me reconsider my plan."

"This is brutal."

"Yeah, and I should listen to you because you're such an angel. What's your plan gonna be? Ask them politely to move out of our way so we can walk into the sunset together in peace? It don't work like that anymore, Joel."

"Damn it!" Joel raised his voice. He caught Ellie looking at them, confused and worried. He took a deep breath and said: "This is wrong."

"Don't you think I know that? I'm not heartless, okay."

The sad thing was that Joel would've agreed to her plan if she'd ask him a few months ago. When he didn't meet Ellie. When he was still in Boston, with Tess. He'd gladly thrown the man in front of the lions if it was somehow gonna save his life. Ellie just changed it all in a year. Made him think through some stuff but that didn't make him any better than the woman before him. They were just the same. Ready to do what's necessary to survive. Even if the act itself almost seemed barbaric, they would do it.

The pause in their heated conversation made Sonia assume that she somehow hit a spot. Joel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Fine. Do what you gotta do." he said defeated.

"Alright then."

She wasn't sure if she should be glad she won the argument. A man's life was basically being toyed with. Used as decoy, only for it to end in misery.

"If there was another way, I wouldn't be doing this." she said. It doesn't seem like she was trying to convince Joel of her actions but herself.

Joel simply nodded.

They went back to the living room where Ellie watched Jasper from a distance. He seemed a little unhinged. It won't be long before he becomes aggressive.

"So you wanna hear about this plan?" Sonia asked Jasper who was still sitting on the floor, next to the clicker who bit him.

"Yeah."

"You sure? The outcome isn't all that pretty." she warned him.

"What's worse than this?" he asked her, pulling back his shirt to reveal his wound.

"Good point." she pulled out her hand to help him up. "Come on, I'll explain." her voice was soft, almost caring. Almost.

The plan was simple. The execution was something else entirely. Jasper would have to sneak his way into the store without anything blocking his way or killing him. Once inside, if he were lucky enough some of the equipment was still intact, he'd have to play something through the speakers to distract the infected towards him thus giving Joel, Ellie and Sonia a chance to escape.

Sonia was going over the plan again with Jasper while Joel and Ellie sat back and prepared themselves for what's about happen. Ellie sat on top of a wooden table, bouncing her legs up and down. Her face fixated on the floor.

"You okay?" Joel asked, slightly worried because she hasn't said a word.

"This plan sucks." she said quietly.

"Ellie…"

"It fucking is! It's horrible what were making him do, Joel!"

"I know but Jasper wanted to do this. Do you hear me? It was his decision."

"Still, it doesn't make it any better." she looked up and met Joel's eyes. "Does it?" Her eyes were filled with sadness and guilt. It pained him to see her that way.

"I'm sorry, kid. I wish there was another way." Joel said sincerely.

"Anything to survive, right?" she said, her voice full of disgust.

"Anything to survive." Joel repeated.

The four gathered around the doorway. Sonia peeked through the curtains to see what was going on outside.

"The numbers seemed to have dropped only a little." she turned to Jasper. "You ready to do this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." he replied anxiously.

"Don't worry, we'll be right behind you." Joel said.

"I'll keep an eye out from above." Sonia said, then she turned to Joel. "Make sure you keep your distance."

Joel nodded and headed for the door.

"The two of us will find a place to hide."

Joel carefully opened the door to see there were only a couple of clickers ahead of them. Who knew where the rest was hiding?

Before heading outside, Joel placed his hand on Jasper's shoulder and gave him an encouraging nod.

"Good luck." Ellie said and gave him a small smile before they were out the door.

"Let's give them five minutes." Sonia said.

"Sure. No problem." Jasper replied nervously.

He looked around the room, taking every second to examine the place to distract himself.

"You think this is gonna work?" he asked her.

"I hope so."

"Me too."

"Here." she said and handed him something.

"What's this?"

"Uhm, a little parting gift?"

He pulled back some of the newspaper the objects were wrapped in. He let out a small chuckle.

"You really thought of everything, haven't you?"

"I'm well prepared."

"I can see." he said while re-wrapping the newspaper. "If I could only have a last smoke. That'd be satisfying."

Sonia raised one of her eyebrows. She sighed.

"Well, I was keeping it for myself till the day I was gonna get my head blown off but I guess I owe you something." she said while looking through her bag. She held out a dusty pack of cigarettes.

"There's still one inside." she told him and pushed it in his hands.

Jasper smiled. "Thanks. I suppose I'll have plenty of fire once I'm inside the studio."

He looked at the wrapped up objects he was holding.

"I guess so."

He looked at Sonia.

"What?" she asked when she noticed.

"This is really happening, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It is. I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Then let's go."

Jasper nodded. He left the house very quietly while Sonia went upstairs and opened one of the windows. She had a clear view of the path that should lead Jasper to the former recording studio. She looked around and saw Joel and Ellie hiding behind some broken walls, their weapons clutched between their hands.

"It's now or never." she mumbled to herself.

Jasper kneeled down and silently bypassed the first three clickers who didn't seem to notice his prescence. He seem to be doing okay giving the dreadful circumstances. Joel aimed his shotgun at one of the clickers, ready to fire in case something happened. Ellie was also holding on to her gun, prepared to help if Joel or Jasper needed help.

Everything went according to plan and Jasper was almost halfway there. He carefully made his way around the infected nearby. It was almost too easy and it was. A second later the whole plan was starting to fall apart. A tight grip took hold of Jasper's left leg. Something was trying to pull him to the ground. He looked down and saw a runner, his upper body only visible while the rest was crushed under a destroyed building, holding violently on to Jasper. Jasper tried to shake him off as quietly as he could but the attempt was futile. The infected let out a loud cry and drew everyone's attention to them. A storm of infected running towards them, ready to tear him apart.

A shot was fired and the grip loosened around his leg. He looked up and found Sonia firing off bullets.

"Get to the studio! Hurry up!" she yelled.

As he ran, he didn't turn around. He could hear the infected closing in on him but just before they could put their hands on him, multiple gunshots took them down. He knew Joel was blasting off as many infected as he could with Ellie by his side.

He could see the entrance of the music store. Just a few more sprints. On his left three runners were storming their way through the abandoned town, ready to take down Jasper. Joel and Ellie appeared behind him and protect him from the approaching infected.

Joel fired two shots and took down two of them. Ellie finished the other one off while Joel was reloading his shotgun.

"Get inside! We'll keep 'em busy!" he yelled.

And finally he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Out of habit, he wanted to slam the door shut but he needed to get the infected inside the building. The place smelled rotten. He looked around and searched the building and found two speakers. He tested the equipment and fortunately they still operated. Jasper unwrapped the 'gift' he got from Sonia. There were four strange devices inside. Three of them were the same, the other one seemed to be some kind of remote. He ran around the room and placed them. One close to the doorway and the other two each in one corner. He kept the other one in his hand.

He searched through some vinyl tracks, cd's and even some old cassettes. Picked one out and played it. He turned the volume up, on its loudest and the sound of a sole guitar soared through the air.

He went upstairs to find a small office. There was a desk against the opposite wall and a comfortable looking chair. He pulled out the chair and sat down slowly, listening to the music.

He could already hear some infected entering the store. It would take some time for them to get upstairs. Jasper played with the remote in his hand.

"I'll give 'em five minutes." he mumbled to himself.

Joel and Ellie ducked away from the large group of infected who were all running and walking inside the music store. The place was pretty much swamped, leaving Joel and Ellie safely for now.

Joel heard footsteps behind them and when he turned around, Sonia had joined them.

"Ready to leave?" she asked hurriedly.

"Don't have to ask me twice." he turned around. "Come on Ellie, we're leaving."

Some seconds of silence went by before she released her gaze on the music store and turned around.

"Okay."

The three of them carefully searched their way outside the town and suddenly heard a loud bang followed by two other explosions. They turned around to find the music store in a sea of flames.

"What the fuck happened?!" Ellie asked in panic.

"We gotta go! Hurry up!" Sonia yelled above the crackling sound of the fire that was burning down the building.

Meanwhile Jasper was surrounded by fire, no way to escape. He leaned back in his chair, not afraid at all. He opened the dusty cigarette pack and took out the only one that was inside. He lit it up by using the violent flames that were holding him captive. He heard the infected downstairs, screaming in agony while the fire burned their torn off flesh. Jasper took a drag from his cigarette and inhaled the smoke deep down his lungs. He felt it burn and finally released the smoke from his lungs and through his mouth.

He looked around, the fire was getting closer and the scene before him should normally frighten him to death but he wasn't scared at all. It was even refreshing somehow. He didn't know why but it just felt that way. Odd or not, he closed his eyes and continued smoking in peace, making sure his cigarette burned out first before the fire could burn him while the song was coming to an end.

Joel, Ellie and Sonia ran away from the fire. Only a few infected attacked them but they quickly took them down before they reached the end of town. They were finally safe. The three turned to the burning building.

It burned bright and strong. And in a strange way, it was also beautiful. A flame so fierce and grand it drove away all the shadows, the smoke lingering in the everlasting sky. But just like every fire and every threat, it's something to be admired from afar. People who aren't careful enough, will find themselves walking straight into the flames, burning them to the ground, wishing they had stayed away.

It was like part of the sun fell down to earth and shattered everything that was beneath it, burning everything to ashes.

And somewhere between the blazing flames, the harrowing cries of dozens of infected, there was Jasper. A man who spent his last dying moments saving a bunch of strangers.


End file.
